


A Love So Lucid

by Nunchi_Writes



Series: Nunchi's One Shots [6]
Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Dreams, Dreamsharing, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-24 19:55:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17107133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nunchi_Writes/pseuds/Nunchi_Writes
Summary: A bond formed between two members of a colorless dystopian society, told from a series of dreams the two encounter, and the ultimate decision between heart and head that must be made.





	A Love So Lucid

**Author's Note:**

> For my lovely secret santa partner, [@wonpilang](https://tmblr.co/mfwanaSMDHLZ9gXv166AtzA) on Tumblr. I am so sorry I did a terrible job sending you asks, but if you’d like I’d love to chat in DMs anytime!! You’re such a kind soul and I hope this is a sufficient gift!

Everyone dreams.

And yet, no one does.

At least, not in  _this_ society.

…Not in this world.

Everyone here takes  _it_. The lifeblood that keeps society as efficient and pestilence-free as a heavenly machine. The very essence that the fibers of our organized world depend on. Without it, it is said that our perfect civilization would crumble into ruin, due to the limitless err of humanity. Because of it, color is something you’ve only heard of in books, lost to the knowledge of generations long past.

Everyone takes it.

The medicine.

The side effects, though saturated to the deepest parts of every person’s soul, are but an everyday aspect of everyone’s lives. Everyone. Ages have passed since anyone has discovered a world without it.

Here, everyone has dreams they forget.

Dreams, remembered not for the acerbity of their content, but for the hazy dimness left in one’s mind as the morning erases all bare memory of it.

To society, all that was unnecessary was discarded, and all that was vital to its survival was contained within a dose of its pill.

Dreams were unnecessary.

Dreams were discarded.

That is, until you started to remember yours.

 

* * *

 

Cold bit at every uncovered piece of your skin it could reach. Barefoot and without gloves, your fingers and toes quickly stung in response to the frost that bit at them. The thin material of your nightgown clung to your freezing body.

You were running.

Trapped within the sheer black walls of an icy labyrinth.

Cold… It was so cold…

Aside from the desperate pitter patter of your feet against the wet, damp stone ground, there was only silence.

You didn’t know why you were running.

Only that your life depended on your ability to escape.

Your lungs quickly contracted with every exacerbated breath you managed, a cloud of white marking each exhale in the frozen night.

It was endless, the maze.

Part of you had accepted that, aware that reality itself could never be so cruel.

Yet another part of yourself was utterly immersed within the parameters of this nightmare.

You were growing tired, your balance waning after every sharp turn. Your legs ached, begging and pleading for the sweet release of fatigue and resulting surrender. You wouldn’t dare lean on the black walls for support, though, knowing all too well the fiery coldness that awaited your touch. It was like an electric fence, cornering you and taunting you that an exit existed somewhere hidden to the human eye.

You had to keep running.

Or else, it would never stop.

You were sure of it.

As time egged on at a painful rate, however, you felt the muscle in your legs turn sluggish. Your weight could no longer be supported on them, causing your sprint to become a wobbly, unbalanced stagger.

You didn’t know how much more of this you could take.

Darkness seemed to envelope what consciousness you had left.

You wanted so desperately to welcome it.

“Don’t.”

A deep voice ruptured your trance, spreading just enough life back into your veins to awaken your system.

You whipped your head in all directions, searching for the source of the only noise that had ever broken the obsidian silence.

“Keep running.”

It came from behind you.

You turned around in a flash, disappointed and surprised to find no one within the maze alongside you.

“You must keep running.”

Again, the voice seemed to be coming from a place you could never look at in time.

Suddenly, a gust of frozen wind blew through the black halls. Your arms came up to hug yourself in a desolate attempt to keep what warmth was left. With your knees trembling, you could feel yourself ready to collapse at any given moment. Your eyes shut in a feeble attempt to block out the cold.

“I will guide you.”

Your eyes flew open. The voice was much closer this time, sending with it a whisper of warmth that was so desperately needed.

“Follow my voice- I will show you the exit.”

It came from the end of the hallway this time, and without another moment to waste, you stumbled forwards, chasing after it.

“Turn left.”

It was calm, so unshakably calm as it echoed through the maze.

“Go straight.”

You staggered like a wounded animal, driven by a glimmer of hope that this hell would be over soon. Another burst of wind came at you full force, slowing your pace as your hands flew up to block the gust from your face.

“You’re almost there. Keep running.”

Swallowing hard, you pushed back against the wind, pressing forwards as the voice of comfort led you.

“Go right.”

You rounded the corner, fearing that another stroke of wind was waiting to strike you down at any moment.

“Hurry.”

It was at the end of the hall that you saw it; the black gate. Two doors with bars of black steel in the distance. You were so close now.

“Beyond those doors…” The voice nudged.

You limped forwards, grabbing the handle of the frozen gate and using every ounce of power left within you to pull it open. As you slid between the narrow crack, your consciousness registered the voice’s last words.

“You are safe.” It cooed. “Rest now.”

Darkness.

You awoke.

 

 

Left with little other option, you resumed your day like normal, dubbing the abnormality as a glitch within the pill.

Perhaps you had just forgotten to take it that day, after all.

The next time you went to bed, however, you remained hesitant.

Never before had a dream been so vivid, so real. Never before had you actually remembered it.

As the day was long, however, so too was the desire for rest. Laying your body against the monochrome sheets, your eyes and mind shut out the world around you. Almost as soon as your head hit the pillow, you entered a new one.

This time, you were met with a warm, amber glow.

Such warmth- you could’ve sworn you actually felt the heat across your skin. You shook your head in disbelief; sensory experiences weren’t possible in dreams. And yet…

A breeze swept across your field of vision, illuminating an expanse of flowers as far as the eye could see. The meadow was filled with warm hues, piercing your sight with intense shades of yellows, oranges, and amber. The plant life consisted of shapes you had never imagined before, varying in size and design so much that you struggled to process them all. The sun seemed to peek out from beyond the horizon, casting a bright glow on all it could reach.

This dream was so different from the last. You wondered what could have possibly caused such a bizarre occurrence to-

“You’re here.” A voice spoke soft and low directly behind you. “…Again.”

Startled you spun around, your eyes meeting those belonging to a boyish face a few paces away. His voice was so familiar to you.

“Who are you?” You offered.

“I could be asking you the same thing.” He countered, “Though, I’m sure neither of us really know the true answer to that question. Not within the society we both live.”

You studied him, eyes picking up immediately on his electric, red hair, almost seeming to be set on fire due to the light cast on it by the sun. He wore simple black clothing, though his eyes remained kind.

“Alright,” You swallowed, still on the side of caution. “Where am I, then?”

“Inside my dream.” He smiled. “Or I, inside of yours. It doesn’t matter which.”

“Why…” Your mind was racing. “…How-”

“I’ve been here for quite some time, these dreams.” He took a step closer, curiosity washed over his expression. “But I’ve never once met another within them. At least, not up until last night.”

Your eyes widened in realization.

“You were the voice that led me out of the maze.”

“I was just as surprised as you were.” He crossed his arms. “I remember being trapped within that maze myself several months ago. Instead of questioning when, or why, I only knew I had to help you escape it.”

“What does this mean? Why are we remembering these dreams?” You paused, dazed and overwhelmed. “How do I know you’re real?”

The boy hummed. “You don’t.”

You blinked, even more confused.

“In the same way that I have no physical proof that you are real, either.” He walked closer. Eventually, your bodies were but a hair away from being pressed against each other. His eyes looked down to you in deep contemplation, as if searching for answers he’d been looking for for countless years.

“Why you?” He whispered, so quiet you almost couldn’t hear him. “Why here? Why now?”

You were too stunned by his proximity to respond.

He brushed a stray piece of hair from your face, studying your reaction as you fought to stand still.

“I have a feeling this won’t be the last time we meet.”

Your eyes flew open as you gasped.

You awoke.

 

* * *

 

You distinctly remember taking the pill that morning.

Downing a glass of water, you popped it into your mouth, gripping the edges of your sink in wild confusion.

 _Maybe it will all go away soon_. You thought hopefully,  _Maybe it’s just a defect. It will right itself soon enough, I’m sure of it._

As you returned from work that evening exhausted, however, it seemed as though a small part of you knew that as soon as your head hit the pillow, it would return.

That small part was right.

This time, you shuddered as you entered the dream world.

You were surrounded by a disorganized array of oversized objects; objects of the most random variety. Your body felt infinitesimally small. A giant, unopened can here, an enormous tube of lipstick there, and a spilled box of large jacks and marbles that lay strewn about all around you.

Gray sand, or rather, a sand-like substance, was at your feet as you glanced downwards.

“You’re here again.” A familiar voice stated cautiously.

“So are you.” You swallowed.

You looked back up to see the boy walking out from behind a gigantic, discarded nutcracker doll. His kind eyes greeted you warmly.

“You still don’t know anything about this?” You cleared your throat, breaking the silence. “About why we see each other, or why we’re even dreaming in the first place?”

The boy shook his head.

“I know I’ve been here for a long time.” He leaned his back against a glass jar of paintbrushes, not far from where you stood. “Always with the same feeling.”

“Feeling?” You prodded, your gaze directed upwards towards the tops of the supersized objects.

There was silence.

When you turned your head to look back down, Chanyeol stood just a breath away from you.

You flinched, startled as he began to dive deep within your eyes once more.

“That I’ve been looking for someone.”

He took a step forward, closing the distance between the two of you.You took a consequent step back in an attempt to gain a leverageable amount of space.

Another step forwards.

“That I’m connected to them on a level I don’t yet understand.”

You swallowed, nervous more at the words he spoke than his own advance.

“What  _are_ you?” You whispered.

The boy’s hand came down against the cardboard your back was now pressed up to, landing near your head and trapping you within his gaze.

“I think the question we should both be asking ourselves is,”

His eyes burned a tunnel down to your very soul, and all at once it seemed as though a spark was set ablaze within it. As though fire and ice were mixed together in a cacophonous fit that made your blood turn into pure steel. As though everything, just from the piercing gaze of his eyes, was now making sense.

“What are  _we_?”

You awoke.

 

* * *

 

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Wash.

Rinse.

Repeat.

You gripped the edges of your sink with fervor, heaving for air as you broke to cycle. Glancing up at the mirror, you witnessed how red your face had become after cleaning and nearly rubbing it raw many times over.

You couldn’t clear your head.

Something was wrong; you knew it had to be due to how counterculture the very notion of dreaming so vividly was.

But it didn’t  _feel_ wrong.

No, not when you were there. Oddly enough, for a reason you did not yet understand, you felt like it was a place where you were destined to be.

At  _his_ side.

As you went on with your day, you couldn’t help but notice how… gray everything was. How certain nuances of the workplace became trivial.

You never noticed how bland it all was.

As you collapsed onto your bed that night, you gripped the sheets tightly, attempting in vain to prepare yourself for another dive into the lucid abyss.

Darkness.

The void.

And then, waves.

You could hear them, crescendoing as if they grew nearer.

The repetitive hiss that came as the sea water invaded the coast, retreating back in languid motion.

Your eyes flew open.

A violet hue was cast across the shoreline, illuminating a body of water that stretched beyond the length of the black horizon. The purple moon, which was the source of such odd yet soothing light, was full. You shivered under its casting glow.

“Have you a response to my question?”

Your head whipped around. The boy with kind eyes stood adjacent to you.

Your eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

He walked closer.

“As to what we are?”

“And I suppose you hold the answer?” You countered, still wary of the pull you felt towards him.

He hummed. “I take it you haven’t read the ancient texts within the archives.”

“Such manuscripts are relics, long forgotten and forbidden to the public eye.” You narrowed your eyes. “But you already knew that, didn’t you.”

“I must admit some shred of curiosity festered within me.” The boy smiled at the sand beneath his feet. “Some desire to know the hidden truth behind the system.”

“Curiosity is a threat to society.” You deadpanned robotically, a mantra you had been taught all your life. “A danger to the way we live.”

“And what way is that?” He prodded, seeking a resistant response.

“A way in which there is no war, no fear, no stress, no pain, no-”

“No humanity.” The boy’s eyes locked onto yours once again, the same iridescent feeling beginning to pool within your stomach.

“You’ve felt it too,” He continued. “The way society begins to look void of everything that makes mankind different from mindless artificial intelligence.”

You bit your lip, both comforted and disturbed at how he seemed to understand exactly how you felt. The only one who understood.

“Tell me honestly,” He stepped even closer. “Have you ever seen such color before? Such light?”

As if on cue at his words, the world around you came to life.

You stepped backwards, eyes flashing wildly in all directions, in total awe as a separate sea of lights appeared from behind the sandbank. Fireflies, of the deepest hues and shades, washed over the hill slowly in increments, their lights flashing in perfect sync with each other. You couldn’t hide the smile on your face, expanding further as a small pod flew towards you. Brushing your skin in a most delicate manner, you giggled innocently as they lit up with the touch of your fingertips.

The space between the two of you remained illuminated as the miniature lanterns danced around your bodies.

“This world is visible only to us.” Chanyeol spoke softly. Lovingly, almost. His fingers grazed your arm, making its way upwards to brush across your cheek. “For so long, I’ve sought answers as to why I’ve had these dreams. Why they feels so real. Why I can’t seem to fill the void that echoes throughout my entire being since I’ve had them.”

He cupped your face, tender with his every action.

“Until I saw you.”

“How is this possible?” You whispered, breathless.

“I was driven crazy by this eternal feeling of emptiness. So I sought the archives for some ounce of sanity I could hope to find; to retain. Within the oldest texts I found exactly what I had been looking for.” He paused, inhaling as he closed his eyes in an attempt to immerse himself in the moment. “A bond, created by destiny within two people for the sole purpose of reawakening the very core of what makes them human.”

You shivered as he opened his eyes, looking into yours not with intensity, but with soft yearning. His hands covered yours, placing within your palm a foreign object.

“Love.”

You awoke.

Gasping, you sat up immediately. You blinked, still dazed and confused as to the meaning behind the dream and the boy’s words. Feeling something twitch within your closed palm, you shuddered.

As you opened it, the soft glow of a firefly flashed for a brief second, before disappearing amidst the air.

The same firefly he had placed within your palm.

 

* * *

 

When you returned home from work the next day, you found yourself pacing the hardwood floors of your bedroom.

 _Wrong. It was all wrong._ You thought.  _But then… Why did it feel as though everything else refused to make sense?_

As you lay your head against the pillow, for the fourth time prepared to leap into the unknown, you made up your mind.

You were just beginning to get the answers you needed.

You were too far deep into the abyss to back down now.

With that, you shut your eyes, and the world dissolved around you.

This time, when you reopened your eyes, the sun was shining.

A gentle breeze blew, and you found yourself within the tall, lush walls of a hedge garden. Bright, vibrant red roses bloomed from various spawns within the shrubbery, greeting your eyes with an intensity that was unrivaled. You heard the soft rush of water in the distance. Deciding to follow it, you soon found yourself at the foot of a beautiful stone fountain.

This time, you sensed him first.

This time, you were the first to speak.

“Do you have an explanation for last night?” You murmured, opting not to turn around around to face him. “What you spoke of was a little more than absurd.”

“It was the truth.” You could never seem to understand how the boy’s voice was so soothing, so consistently warm to your senses. “I can offer no explanation for that.”

You spun around, wanting to be angry at how confusing he was making all of this, but ultimately finding it impossible.

“What did the books say?” You met his gaze, unabashed.

“That this was an inevitable result of the pill.” His tone was serious. “That such a continuous suppression of humanity would result in us eventually becoming innocuous to its effects.”

“You mean…”

“We’re beginning to break free.”

Shock turned to silence.

You didn’t know what to say, how to say it, or why you were placed in a position to speak such words in the first place.

All you knew was that there was liquid fire coursing through your veins whenever you were with him, this boy. A boy you knew little about, other than he had turned your world on its head.

“Though it’s confusing to you now, I know why you feel this way.” His voice startled you, breaking you from your trance. “I feel it too.”

He gestured towards the terrace that led within the maze, and you followed.

“You don’t understand how or why this connection took place, as do I. But tell me,” He walked with his hands behind his back, his eyes still gleaming. “Have you ever developed an emotional connection to someone?”

You clenched your teeth, eyes narrowing at the ground as you weighed the question.

In truth, you had never held any form of relationship with another, other than that strictly relating to business.

You bit your lip, now aware at how increasingly empty your life was now appearing.

“I read the texts.” The boy stopped and took a step closer to you, reaching above you to pick a blush rose from its stem. “I know what we are.”

As he handed you the rose, you felt a sharp sting at your index finger.

The thorn had pricked you.

Your gaze reconnected with his, desperate for the key that made everything click.

“Soulmates.”

You awoke.

Slowly, this time, arising from the covers in a dull haze of untamable thoughts.

Feeling a wetness begin to pool at your hand, you lifted the sheets. Upon examination, you found it to be blood from a small cut on your finger.

Your eyes widened.

The rose.

 

* * *

 

The dreams were not just becoming more vivid, but leering more and more into reality.

You knew this.

Fearing the worst, you continued to take the pill, hand shaking as you downed two glasses of water in the process.

Your world of black and gray was dissolving around you, the only thing continually making sense being that estranged boy’s presence.

The pieces of the puzzle were finally aligning themselves.

And that boy was the only one who could complete the entire image.

This thought became your mantra as you convinced yourself to sleep that night. The inevitable fear culminated amongst your other feelings of doubt, yet you knew you could no longer remain ignorant.

This time, as sleep came, you welcomed it, leaping into the darkness with as much courage as you could muster.

This courage, however, was cut abruptly short as you found yourself suspended amidst an endless pool of blue almost immediately. The open ocean, you were quick to realize, extended in infinite length in all directions, including an unwelcoming black pit that descended below. Somehow, you could breathe, though you felt the wet pressure of water surround you.

Within a single blink, the boy appeared in front of you, wading in the same position you were.

“What’s happening?” You asked, trying to keep your voice calm. “Everything around me… It feels unstable.”

Though he tried to hide it, there was definite fear on the boy’s face as well.

“This world is elapsing too quickly.” He studied his surroundings. “It may not hold for long.”

Sensing your time was short, you spoke up.

“Where do we go from here?”

The boy shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Seeing the disappointment in your eyes, he continued.

“What I do know, however, is that when I woke up, I desired nothing else than to hold you in my arms.” His voice grew shy, “It almost angered me that I did not have you with me outside of the dream.”

“Something strange happened when I awoke as well.” You struggled not to choke on your words, nervous beyond comprehension.

The water seemed to vibrate and crackle around you, and a deep, ominous groan was emitted from the depths of the abyss.

Your breathing grew heavy. Both you and the boy knew you had little time.

You swallowed the hard lump in your throat, closing your eyes and deciding to take the leap.

“I woke up wanting to kiss you.”

You felt a strong arm wrap around your waist, causing your eyes to fly open.

Just as they did, you saw the boy smiling down at you tenderly. His other hand came to cup your face, and before the two of you could utter a single word, he pressed his lips to yours.

You had never experienced anything so electrifying in your life.

Heaven and earth seemed to meet as his lips dug deeper, the yearning the two of you had suppressed for so long now tossed aside. The boy pulled your body towards him as he became more passionate, causing every fiber of your being to break down and reconstruct itself time and time again. Your hands went up to hug him, holding him close.

You awoke.

Completely, and totally, drenched.

The gray sheets dark as the water that soaked every part of your body spread to it.

You were still gasping for air, mind a complete mess as you were too shocked to properly consider how your dream had leaked into reality.

So much so that you could still feel the faint, tender warmth of his lips against your own.

 

* * *

 

The next time night fell, you were almost too afraid to think coherently.

You had to go back.

But could you?

How would the dream world react this time? Let alone reality.

Taking a deep breath, you rubbed your hands up and down your arms for warmth.

You would always live in regret if you didn’t commit yourself fully.

Settling your mind, you climbed onto the bed, opting to lay on top of the sheets.

You bit your lip, fighting with futility against the unnerving sense of dread you felt just before you slipped beyond your consciousness.

This time, as you appeared within the dream world, that feeling of dread came with you.

Your eyes met his as you both stood within a glass box, suspended countless feet above an unknown source.

There was a shared look between the two of you, and an unknown feeling of certainly hit you in an instant.

This would be the last time.

“This world is collapsing.” The boy’s voice remained calm.

As if confirming this, a loud, ear-splitting crack sounded from the ceiling.

The glass was beginning to shatter.

“What…” You swallowed. “What do we do?”

His eyes surveyed the walls of the enclosed space; clear, solid, peering out into a limitless void of darkness.

“We will find each other.” His voice remained unshakably calm. “I promise.”

Another deafening  _snap_.

“How can you be sure?” Your breathing became labored.

“You have to trust me.” His gleaming, kind eyes fought hard across the distance to keep you calm.

_Snap._

_Snap. Snap._

Tears began to well up in your eyes.

“I don’t want to lose you.” You choked out. “I fear I’ll never see you again.”

_Snap._

“You must trust me.” He reiterated. “Trust me when I tell you this-”

_Snap._

“Don’t. Take. The pill.”

The ceiling came crashing down, your hands flying to your head to shield yourself from its icy shards.

“ _Please_!” You begged, reaching your arm out to him. “Don’t leave me!”

The boy shuffled closer, the floor beneath him seconds from giving way.

“What’s your name?!” He shouted over the ear-splitting shrieks of the glass.

“(y/n)!”

**Snap.**

The glass right beneath you.

His hand was so close- you could almost reach it.

“What is your name!?”

His lips moved, but no sound came out.

Only the deafening crack and shatter of the floor beneath.

And then, you were falling.

Falling.

Falling.

Falling.

Falling.

Falling.

Falling.

**You awoke.**

 

* * *

 

Even though you followed his advice to abstain from your dosage of the pill, you never saw the boy after that night.

You never dreamed again.

Two months passed by in a blur, every doubt possible saturating your mind as the time egged on.

Would you ever see him again?

Was it all just a figment of your imagination?

Was any of it even real?

Pulling on your heavy winter coat, you opened your apartment door, braving the bitter, colorless cold that greeted you with abrasive spite.

Your life had returned to normal.

Abstaining from the pill had no effect.

The spark had all but died out.

You brushed past the hoards of people that scurried and scuffled within the sliver of sidewalk. Jostled along, you kept your gaze centered ahead, shutting out the busied city chaos surrounding you.

You were abruptly jerked backwards, shattering your mindless trance.

You felt a hand on the fabric of your coat sleeve near your elbow.

“Excuse me.”

That voice.

It gave you pause.

You turned slowly. So, so slowly.

Your eyes were trained on the ground, met with the black business shoes of the man that had stopped you.

Just as slowly, your eyes trailed upwards.

Your blood turned to ice at the sight of his face.

“I’m sorry.” He smiled ever so gently. “But, I-… Haven’t we met somewhere before?”

Stunned silence.

“(y/n).”

It came from his lips softly, as though the very mention of your name would forever cast a spell on him.

It shook you to your very core.

“Where are my manners,” He grinned sheepishly. “I have yet to introduce myself.”

His hair was brown; ruffled but neat. His clothing was professional and centered.

But his  _ **eyes**_.

Those,  _those_ remained the same.

**“I’m Chanyeol.”**

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas Everyone!!!! I’ll keep it brief since it’s 2am here and the wifi on my grandma’s laptop is slower than a snail on siesta. I hope you all enjoyed it and that my experiment on a new genre/au wasn’t completely terrible. Have a wonderful holiday everyone! Stay warm! I love you guys so much!!
> 
> ~Nunchi
> 
>  
> 
> Find me on Tumblr too [@nunchiwrites](https://nunchiwrites.tumblr.com)!!


End file.
